Cereals

Flours, Italy leads Europe in quantity and quality

In 15 years, foreign sales have grown by 300% to almost half a million tonnes. Here are the structural challenges to be met to maintain leadership

16 June 2025

Sono circa 300 i molini in Italia che trasformano ogni anno in farina oltre 12 milioni di tonnellate di frumento

3' min read

The Italian milling sector is preparing to face a promising year in terms of production, but not without structural challenges that require targeted interventions to strengthen the competitiveness of the entire national cereal chain.

According to the forecasts presented during the 2025 edition of the Durum Days organised by Assosementi, Cia-Agricoltori Italiani, Confagricoltura and other sector organisations, the national durum wheat production for the 2024-2025 crop year is estimated at over 4.2 million tonnes. This is a figure about 20 per cent higher than in 2024 and 12 per cent higher than the average of the last five years, according to data presented by Crea. The increase in production is linked both to the expansion of cultivated areas, which grew by 9.5% nationally according to ISTAT data (1.28 million hectares compared to 1.17 last year), and to the particularly favourable conditions recorded in Sicily, Basilicata and part of Puglia.

Despite the positive production outlook, the market has recordeda price drop in recent weeks. Analyses by Areté show that, on average between March and the first weeks of May, there was a 7% drop for durum wheat quoted in Bologna and 8% in Foggia. Among the main bearish factors was the appreciation of the euro against the US dollar: between March and May the exchange rate increased by 4%, making imports contracted in dollars cheaper.

The processing sector thus confirms its European leadership position. As highlighted by Italmopa - Associazione Industriali Mugnai d'Italia (to whose leadership Vincenzo Martinelli has just been elected, editor's note) there are currently about 300 mills operating in our country, annually processing over 12 million tonnes of soft and durum wheat for the production of almost 8 million tonnes of flour. These figures place the national milling sector firmly at the top of the European milling industry in terms of not only volume but also the quality of its production.

Italian quality is confirmed by the growth in exports: in the last 15 years, foreign sales of flour have grown by more than 300%, reaching almost half a million tonnes in total. Despite the positive numbers, the sector faces structural criticalities that have been dragging on for decades. Vincenzo Martinelli, president of the Durum Wheat Mills Section and new Italmopa president, points out that the supply chain operates 'in an open, global, highly competitive context'. Martinelli also emphasises the importance of overcoming 'the mere purpose of trade unionism and local relevance' to aim instead at 'increasing the competitiveness of the entire national supply chain'.

The sector is looking to the future through innovative projects that combine tradition and technology.The Crea, through the Grano.it project financed by the Ministry of Enterprise and Made in Italy, is developing "advanced digital modelling systems for the improvement and prediction of yield and quality", as explained by Pasquale De Vita, research manager Crea Cerealicoltura e Colture Industriali. Particularly significant is the Neogranìa project developed by Petra Molino Quaglia, which aims to create a community of farmers and bakery professionals through evolutionary agronomy techniques to develop new native varieties of cereals. The project promotes 'a more resilient and soil-friendly agriculture,' explains marketing director Piero Gabrieli, 'and strengthens the collaboration between growers, processors and users.

On the innovative ingredient front, Cereal Docks presented Heliapro, a protein flour derived from sunflower seeds with high protein content (50%) and no common allergens, ideal for plant-based and gluten-free products.